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SOUTH EL MONTE — A gunman robbed the lobby of a South El Monte motel Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The crime took place about 3:35 p.m. when the robber walked into the Rodeway Inn, 1228 Durfee Avenue, near Peck Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Ismael Chavez said.
“He asked the price of a room. As the victim began to answer, he produced a handgun and pointed it at him,” the lieutenant said.
The gunman demanded cash, and the clerk turned over $245 from the cash register, he said.
Chavez said the robber then ordered to victim, a 23-year-old man, to turn around and not look back as he fled.
Officials described the robber as a Latino man in his mid-20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 190 pounds. He wore a black coat, purple shorts and purple shoes.
Anyone with information can contact the sheriff’s Temple Station at 626-285-7171.

SOUTH EL MONTE — Two teenage boys suffered injuries in baseball bat attack late Friday, authorities said.
Few details were initially available regarding the 11:59 p.m. incident in the 2000 block of Santa Anita Avenue, near Rush Street, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Ann Devane said. The teens did not appear to be fully cooperating with investigators.
They were with a group of four or five others when two attackers described only as Latino exited a white, 4-door, older model car and assaulted the two victims with a baseball bat, Devane said.
The teens told deputies the attack was unprovoked, and they had no idea why they were beaten, the sergeant said.
One of the boys was hospitalized with injuries including an apparent broken nose, and the other was bleeding from his head, the sergeant said. The injuries were not believed to be major.

A 30-year-old Chino Hills man died Wednesday after he was thrown from his motorcycle on the 60 Freeway in South El Monte, then struck by a big rig which continued driving, authorities said.
Troy Dean Olson died in the crash, which took place shortly after 6:30 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of the freeway, just east of Cogswell Road, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Fred Corral said.
Olson was driving a 2013 Honda motorcycle at an unknown speed in the No. 3 lane prior to the crash, Officer M. Gonzales of the California Highway Patrol’s East Los Angeles office said. The motorcyclist applied his brakes due to slowing traffic ahead.
“(Olson) lost control of the motorcycle, causing him to be ejected onto the No. 4 lane,” Gonzales said. A passing big rig then ran over the rider.
Paramedics pronounced Olson dead at the scene, officials said.
Witnesses on-scene stated the driver of the tractor-trailer momentarily stopped and then proceeded to drive away from the scene of the collisions,” Gonzales said.
A description of the driver was not available, however the big rig was described as a dark-colored tractor with a gray or white trailer, he said.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the East Los Angeles office of the CHP at 323-980-4600.

Coroner’s officials asked the public’s help Wednesday in identifying a woman whose partially skeletonized remained were discovered in the San Gabriel riverbed in April.
The remains of the woman, listed at the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner as Jane Doe No. 27, were discovered by county workers about 8:40 a.m. April 2 in the riverbed about 150 yards north of the Whittier Narrows Dam, and 100 yards west of Pico Rivera Bicentennial Park in an unincorporated county area near South El Monte, coroner’s officials said in a written statement.
Due to the condition of the body, which sheriff’s investigators said may have been there for several months, an autopsy was unable to determine how the woman died, coroner’s Lt. Larry Dietz said. The officials cause of death was listed at the coroner’s office as “undetermined.”
In an effort to learn the identity of the woman, and possibly shed light on what happened to her, investigators Wednesday publicly released a sketch of what the woman was believed to have looked like. A sketch of a tattoo of a rising sun with two mushrooms in front of it on the woman’s right calf was also released.No wallet or identifying papers were found with the body, officials said.
The dead woman was described as 21 to 40 years old. Her eye color could not be determined. She was wearing blue jeans, size 16 petite, and gray size 10 tennis shoes.
“A gray messenger bag containing two body sprays, along with a gray “Amtrak” hooded jacket were found near the decedent,” according to the coroner’s statement.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Investigator Daniel Machian of the Coroner’s Identifications Unit at 323-343-0754, or the Coroner’s Investigations Division at 3230343-0714.

Sketch of victim, tattoo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

SOUTH EL MONTE — A man made off with an iPhone 5 after brandishing a pair or wire cutters at a cell phone store employee Saturday, officials said.
The robbery took place about 5 p.m. at a T-Mobile store in the 1800 block of Durfee Avenue, Sgt. Bensahile of the sheriff’s Temple Station said. He declined to give his first name.
A store employee noticed a man using wire cutters to open up a case containing cell phones, the sergeant said.
When confronted by a store employee, “He raised the wire cutters in a threatening manner,” Bensahile said. The thief then ran off with an iPhone 5 valued at $650.
He was described as a Latino man between 20 and 25 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, Bensahile added. He wore a red shirt and blue pants.

SOUTH EL MONTE — Authorities and concerned family members are asking the public’s help in tracking down two 16-year-old girls believed to have run away from home more than a week ago.
Cynthia Gaytan and Dacia Ramos were last seen June 12 at South El Monte High School, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Loy McBride said.
The girls were believed to have run away of their own accord, and foul play was not suspected, McBride said. At least one sighting of the girls has been reported at a Long Beach restaurant where Gaytan and Ramos were eating, and they did not appear to be an any distrss.
Nonetheless, after more than a week passed since the girls vanished, family members are growing increasingly concerned and asked anyone who spots the girls to contact deputies immediately.
The girls’ online communications indicated they planned to first go to Long Beach to work and save up some money before heading to Northern California to meet someone they’d met over the Internet.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the sheriff’s Temple Station at 626-285-7171.

SOUTH EL MONTE — A gunman dressed in black and wearing a blue baseball cap got away with cash after robbing a liquor store Tuesday night.
Deputies didn’t say how much money the culprit took.
Mike’s Liquor at 2003 Rosemead Boulevard was robbed around 8:45 p.m.
Lt. Ignacio Somoano of the sheriff’s Temple station said the suspect approached a store employee, displayed a gun and demanded money.
He left with the money and was last seen in a white vehicle, Somoano said.
The suspect was described as a Latino. 25 to 30, and 5 feet 6 inches tall.

SOUTH EL MONTE — Two men with a shotgun robbed a Durfee Avenue bakery early Sunday, authorities said.
The robbers entered Daisy’s Bakery, 1611 Durfee Ave., about 5:30 a.m., Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Jorge Marchena said.
One of the men brandished a shotgun as they demanded cash from a female worker, according to the sergeant.
The woman handed over about $250, and the robbers were last seen fleeing west from the bakery on foot, he said. The employee was not hurt.
A detailed description of the robbers was not available.

SOUTH EL MONTE — A man was wounded in a shooting along the Rio Hondo Bike Path Sunday, officials said.The attack was reported just before 4 p.m. on the bike path near San Gabriel Boulevard and the Rio Hondo, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Loy McBride said.The man hearing gunshots, but not seeing where they came from, before realizing he had been struck twice, the lieutenant said.He was treated for injuries not believed to be life-threatening, McBride added.Further details were not immediately available. The shooting was being investigated by deputies from the Sheriff’s Parks Bureau.

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